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Wednesday, August 27, 2008


Hot Ninja Moon Moon is a short action platformer which took acidBatterie four weeks to create with the Game Maker engine. Use the W, A, S and D keys to move or jump over traps found in each of the fifteen stages. Press the jump button twice while in midair to execute a double jump move. The R key can be used to reset a level.

There are fifteen stages to play in total. The game also supports both single and two-player hotseat modes. (TIGSource thread)

Name: Hot Ninja Moon Moon
Developer: acidBatterie
Category: Platformer
Type: Freeware
Size: 5MB

Tuesday, August 26, 2008


Towerball is a short physics game created in under two days, where players will attempt to guide two coloured balls on a string towards the yellow target found in each of the seven towers included. Use the mouse to set a trajectory direction and speed, then left click to hit it. Press the right mouse button to dampen the ball and slow it down.

Every attempt at hitting the ball deducts a number between one to seven from your power counter, depending on the strength of your shot. The game ends when you've run out of power, but can be restored marginally by bouncing your ball off the walls in the early levels. A version for Java-enabled browsers is available from the same download page. (Ludum Dare entry)

Name: Towerball
Developer: Måns Olson
Category: Arcade
Type: Freeware
Size: 5MB

Alternate Path is a short retro-style platformer with a simple premise, blocky graphics and very basic gameplay elements. Use the cursor keys to move, and press the up arrow key to jump.

A solution to the tricky text puzzle can be found in the comments section of the same download page.

Name: Alternate Path
Developer: David Yates
Category: Platformer
Type: Freeware
Size: 2MB
Direct download link: Click here

[Every week, Gamasutra sister weblog GamerBytes' editor Ryan Langley will be summing up the top console digital download news tidbits from the past 7 days, including brand new game announcements and scoops through the world of Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network and WiiWare.]

While there has been plenty of news this week for the Xbox Live Arcade, including the release of Castle Crashers this Wednesday, there has been significant new information on PlayStation Network games from the Leipzig Game Convention too.

Here's the rundown of the top console digital download news for the week:

Xbox Live Arcade

Castle Crashers is your XBLA game of the week!
It's been two years of waiting, but the long awaited 4-player cooperative beat-em-up Castle Crashers is set to debut this Wednesday. Grab it for 1,200 Microsoft Points.

New Darwinia+ Trailer - King Of The Hill Multiplayer Madness
A new trailer for Multiwinia was released this week to give us a good look at what Darwinia+ might end up like on the Xbox Live Arcade. Looks like a ton of fun.

Continue reading "Best Of Gamerbytes: Crashing Castles, Booty Questing, Riviera Driving" »

Hexiom Connect is a puzzle game where players will have to rearrange tiles on a hexagonal board so that all coloured lines are connected in order to clear a level. Left click and drag a tile to a new position to move it. Tile positions can also be swapped using the same method. Use the left shift key while clicking on a tile to mark and unmark it.

The game includes forty stages of varying difficulty, a color blind mode, and a level editor where players can save or share their creations by copying a line of code.

Name: Hexiom Connect
Developer: Biclops Games
Category: Puzzle
Type: Browser

Monday, August 25, 2008


Much like Magic: The Gathering and Yu-Gi-Oh!, The Necronomicon is a card game which involves two duelists locked in a deadly battle with only a deck of cards to influence combat proceedings. Both sides start out with forty life points, but gain an additional five maximum life points for each increase in level. The computer AI will gain one rank after each round of combat, but a player's level increase is determined by their performance in the previous battle.

To play a card, simply select one from your hand and click on book of Necronomicon at the center of the table. Sanity cost is shown at the bottom right of each card, although players are only penalized with a random insanity effect when their sanity counter is reduced to zero. The duel ends when one combatant loses all of his or her life points.

Only one creature can be summoned per side. Creatures do not attack directly, but will counterattack when their masters are injured by the opposing party. A creature's attack score is shown on the card itself and as a number in red when the creature is in play. Damage dealt by your creature is calculated by deducting the attack score of the opponent's summoned creature, then minus your opponent's armor rating or Elder Sign which is shown as a number next to a green symbol.

The red marking or Arcane Power is a bonus damage modifier for cards with the same symbol, while the yellow sign indicates the amount of damage you will take at the end of each turn due to spell or curse effects.

Games are automatcially saved after every three levels, and there are twenty levels to play in total. Use the green plus and minus signs at the main menu to increase or decrease the quality of graphics. (Kongregate mirror)

Name: The Necronomicon
Developer: Games of Cthulhu
Category: Strategy
Type: Browser


AGD Interactive (King's Quest 1 and 2 VGA) is back after a near six-year hiatus from freeware projects with their third Sierra adventure game remake, Quest for Glory II: Trial by Fire. Following the events chronicled in the prequel, our Hero of Spielburg is whisked away on a magic carpet to the land of Shapeir to undertake the dangerous mission of saving not one but two desert cities.

The 1990 release was rather unforgiving at times, as the entire adventure happens in one month but many puzzles can only be solved on certain days. The AGDI team has done much to alleviate the problems that hampered players from completing their quest with the inclusion several new features.

All conversation topics are now shown on screen instead of requiring guesswork using a limited text parser interface found in the original. Combat now feels less sluggish thanks to the processing power of modern day computer systems and extra frames of animation. Graphics, backgrounds and sprites have more colour than their classic counterparts, although deserts and alleyways still look as dull as ever.

Try running the game in windowed mode or choose a resolution of 640 by 400 for full screen if the default settings do not work at first. Due to AGS limitations, games saved under one display setup cannot be used for other configurations. (more screenshots in the extended)

Name: Quest for Glory 2 - Trial by Fire
Developer: AGD Interactive
Category: Adventure
Type: Freeware
Size: 90MB

Continue reading "Remake Game Pick: Quest for Glory 2 (AGD Interactive)" »


Karoshi Factory is a new sequel to Jesse Venbrux's suicidal platformer series, where players must find unorthodox methods to kill all suits on screen in order to progress from one stage to the next. Use the Z key to jump, press the X key to shoot once a gun is acquired, and tap the space key to switch characters.

Press the R key to restart a level at any time. The F4 function key can be used to toggle between full screen and windowed modes. Note that touching the blue button causes a random effect, one of which is disabling the character switch function. (download instructions)

Name: Karoshi Factory
Developer: Jesse Venbrux
Category: Platformer
Type: Freeware
Size: 10MB


The Lost Snowmen is a platformer starring three characters with different skill sets, who will have to assist each other during their adventures in order to fulfill a variety of level objectives. Use the cursor keys to move, press the Z key to switch between snowmen, and hold the X key to execute a specific action. Press the escape key to skip cutscenes, and use the F4 function key to switch between full screen and windowed mode.

Stages can be played out of order and attempted at leisure, while the inclusion of a level editor is simply icing on a very tasty cake. (download instructions)

Name: The Lost Snowmen
Developer: Red System
Category: Platformer
Type: Freeware
Size: 20MB


ByteAlity Tower Defense is a tower defense game with more than twenty types of towers to unlock and over a hundred maps to play. Much like RPGCreations' Immortal Defense, the coverage area for a tower can be reviewed by selecting a defense structure, then holding the left mouse button over a valid placement section. Release the button to build the structure immediately, and upgrade a tower by left-clicking on the tower again. Funds for tower purchases and upgrades can be amassed by taking out enemies before they reach the main building and inflict structural damage.

Earn additional points in each map by calling for the next wave of enemies before the timer counts down to zero. A short tutorial and comprehensive map editor are included, though certain features are disabled until a player has made sufficient progress in the campaign mode. (download instructions)

Name: ByteAlity Tower Defense
Developer: Erik Leppen
Category: Strategy
Type: Freeware
Size: 20MB

Sunday, August 24, 2008


Starlit Zone Fighter - Remake is Lazrael's attempt at rehashing a previously-released horizontal shooter with updated graphics and substantially rebalanced gameplay. Ammo has to be replenished frequently by absorbing and digesting fruits using the C key. Hold the D key to shoot, and press the F4 function key to toggle full screen or windowed mode.

This demo contains the first three stages from the planned final release, with the third level cut off just after the first boss encounter.

Name: Starlit Zone Fighter - Remake
Developer: Lazrael
Category: Shooter
Type: Demo
Size: 2MB


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